The Bournvita controversy: Does the chocolate health drink have too much sugar?

Bournvita has found itself amid controversy. The company on Monday sent a legal notice to a social media influencer after he claimed the drink has a high sugar content. Though the influencer has deleted the video, the clip already racked up millions of views on social media. Let’s take a closer look at the entire row: What happened? According to Mint, social media influencer Revant Himatsingka, who is a nutritionist and a health coach, in a video claimed Bournvita has sugar, cocoa solids and cancer-causing colourant. Himatsingka said Bournvita ought to change its tagline “tayyari jeet ki" to “tayyari diabetes ki."

He added that the company ‘mispresents’ the nutritional value of its product, as per Mint.

“Should the government allow companies to blatantly lie on their package? Parents are getting their children addicted to sugar at a young age, and the children end up craving sugar throughout their lives,” Himatsingka wrote as per The Print. The video caught fire on social media platforms and was shared by actor-politician Paresh Rawal and former cricketer and MP Kirti Azad. How did Bournvita react? As per The Print, Bournvita on 9 April in a statement said its product is “a scientifically designed formula made with ingredients that are approved for use, and all our ingredients are declared on the pack”. “Bournvita has enjoyed the love and trust of Indian consumers for more than seven decades. Bournvita contains nutrients namely Vitamin A, C, D, Iron, Zinc, Copper and Selenium which help build immunity,” the statement read.

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— BournvitaIndia (@BournvitaIndia) April 9, 2023

Himatsingka then deleted the post after receiving a legal notice. “I have decided to take down the video across all platforms after receiving a legal notice from one of India’s biggest law firms on 13th April 2023,” he wrote on Instagram. “I apologize to Cadbury for making the video. I did not plan or intend to infringe any trademark or defame any company nor do I have the interest or resources to participate in any court cases and I request MNCs to not take this forward legally,” he said. Bournvita on Monday termed further the video posted by Himatsingka as “unscientific”, which “distorted facts and made false and negative inferences”. Bournvita in a statement said over the last seven decades, it has earned the trust of consumers in India by being a scientifically formulated product that adheres to quality standards and complies with the laws of the land. “We would again like to reinforce that the formulation has been scientifically crafted by a team of nutritionists and food scientists to offer the best of taste and health. All our claims are verified and transparent and all ingredients have regulatory approvals. All the necessary nutritional information is mentioned on the pack for consumers to make informed choices,” said a Bournvita spokesperson. However, it also said the video has created “panic, anxiety, and questions the trust that consumers have bestowed on brands like Bournvita”. It further added: “As we continued to witness an abnormal and unusual amount of traction on the post, we were constrained to take legal recourse to avoid misinformation. We also issued a statement to clarify and share the correct facts to allay the concerns of our consumers.” While Himatsingka’s Twitter account has been suspended, but the company has said it has “no play in actions around the presenter’s Twitter account”. “All our claims are verified and transparent and all ingredients have regulatory approvals. All the necessary nutritional information is mentioned on the pack for consumers to make informed choices,” it added. The company said Bournvita is best consumed with a glass of 200 millilitere of hot or cold milk as highlighted on the pack. “Every serving of 20 gm of Bournvita has 7.5 grams of added sugar, which is approximately one and a half teaspoons. This is much less than the daily recommended intake limits of sugar for children,” said Mondelez India, the company which owns popular brands such as Cadbury Dairy Milk, 5 Star, Oreo cookie and Gems. Moreover, over Caramel Colour (150 C), Bournvita said it “is within permissible limits as per guidelines defined by regulations”. “All ingredients are safe, approved for use and within permissible limits as per the regulatory guidelines,” it said. What do experts say? Mint quoted WHO’s 2015 guidelines as saying that adults and children ought to keep their sugar intake to under 10 per cent of their total energy intake. [caption id=“attachment_12227122” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Experts say such ‘health drink products’ are unnecessary. Pixabay[/caption] Dr Amish Vora, Pediatrician and Neonatal Intensivist at Bhatia Hospital Mumbai, told Financial Express children under two should have no added sugar and that kids between 2 and 18 should have under six teaspoons of sugar. “This is because a lot of children now are obese, have type 2 diabetes. Young adults are having heart disease and heart problems with a lot of chronic and allergic conditions coming to children when they grow up. It is important to restrict them from eating a lot of processed food, carbonated and sugary drinks unless it is being medically prescribed by the doctor. It is best to avoid over-the-counter products since they contain high sugar content,” Dr Vora told Financial Express.com. A Pune-based nutritionist speaking on condition of anonymity told The Print, “These products are playing with the emotions of mothers, who think they’re giving something healthy to their child, when all they’re giving is four tablespoons of sugar with a glass of milk.” She added that the products are not as much of a problem as their advertising.

“Why are they advertised as health drinks?” she asked.

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“Bournvita has been advertising the goodness of the vitamins whose chemical forms are present in their products. This conveniently ignores the amount of sugar and other preservatives the package contains, which doesn’t lead to the strengthening of the bones or the muscles,” she added. Consulting nutritionist Nupur Arya told DailyO,  “These health drinks are not required unless it’s a case of malnutrition or certain illnesses where it can be used as a convenient way to add in calories. Sundeep Khanna, writing for Moneycontrol, said the problem is that the brand is trying to ‘defend the indefensible.’ “As per its own label, every serving of Bournvita has 7.5 gms of sugar, corresponding to one and a half teaspoons.Since the recommended limit for a young child is about six teaspoons, it implies that one helping of Bournvita accounts for a quarter of a child’s daily quota of sugar. Find me a child who will settle for that, to the exclusion of every other form of sweet, and I will show you a future fitness freak,” Khanna wrote. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News,  Trending News,  Cricket News,  Bollywood News, India News and  Entertainment News here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.